How is local government structured?

In Ireland, local authorities in Ireland operate within specific geographic areas called local government areas. Each local government area has a council.

With the exception of from local authorities in the counties of Fingal, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, and South Dublin and the cities of Dublin, Galway and Cork, all local government areas are subdivided into municipal districts. Councillors simultaneously represent the municipal district and the local authority.

How many councils are there?

There are 31 councils in Ireland, consisting of:

26 county councils

3 city councils

2 city and county councils

Within these, there are 95 municipal districts.

How many councillors are there?

There are 949 councillors in Ireland, who are elected in local government elections every five years. The number of councillors per local authority ranges from 18 to 63.

What do councillors do?

Councillors have both a legislative/policy role and an advocacy/representative role:

Legislative/policy – councillors are responsible for the formulation of policy (but generally not implementation which is the mandate of the chief executive)

Advocacy/representative – councillors represent their constituents, who are residents and groups within their ward. They meet with them and address the issues that they raise through advocacy.

Each councillor attends meetings of the full council and the local authority committees of which they are members.

What other roles are there in a council?

Cathaoirleach – On a yearly basis, each local authority elects, from within its councillors, a chair for a term of one year. In most local authorities this person is called the Cathaoirleach, but in Limerick City and County Council, Waterford City and County Council and Galway City Council they are called the Mayor, and in Cork and Dublin City Councils they are called the Lord Mayor. Duties of the Cathaoirleach include:

Chairing council meetings

Exercising a casting vote in instances where is an equal division of votes on an issue

Representing the council at public and ceremonial events.

Leas-Cathaoirleach – The Cathaoirleach’s number two. This position can be called Deputy Mayor or Deputy Lord Mayor depending on the council they are in.

Chief Executive – The Chief Executive is appointed for a seven-year term to manage the local authority. They perform the executive functions of the council, which involves:

supervising, manages and pays the employees and officers

making contracts on behalf of the council

affixing the official seal of the council on documents

Deputy Chief Executive – Not all councils have one of these. A Chief Executive can appoint a deputy, upon consultation with the Cathaoirleach, to act on their behalf while they are absent.

Officers – includes staff such as teachers, social workers, planning officers and other staff of the council who work to to carry out its various functions.

What do councils do?

Local authorities in Ireland are responsible for the provision of public services and facilities such as housing, planning, roads, environmental protection, fire services, and maintaining the electoral register.

Councils also play a significant part in supporting economic development and enterprise at a local level.

What is the political control of councils in Ireland?

City/County Council

Political Control

Galway County

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael

Kerry

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael

Kildare

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael

Kilkenny

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael

Laois

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael

Leitrim

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael

Limerick

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael

Sligo

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael

Tipperary

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael

Westmeath

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael

Wexford

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael

Longford

Fianna Fáil/Ind

Roscommon

Fianna Fáil/Ind

Offaly

Fianna Fáil/Ind

Mayo

Fianna Fáil/Ind

Fingal County

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael/Labour

Waterford

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael/Labour

Clare

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael/Ind

Wicklow

Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael/Ind

Cork County

Fianna Fáil/Labour/Ind

Meath

Fine Gael/Ind

Galway City

Fine Gael/Labour/Ind

Carlow

Fine Gael/Labour/Ind

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown

Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil/Green

Louth

Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil/Labour/Greens/Ind

Dublin City

Sinn Féin/Labour/Green Party/Ind

South Dublin County

Sinn Féin/Labour/Green Party/Ind

Donegal

Rotating Chair (all council members)

Cork City

Rotating Chair (Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael/Sinn Féin/Ind)

Cavan

Rotating Chair (Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael/Sinn Féin)

Monaghan

Rotating Chair (Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael/Sinn Féin)

How is local government in Ireland financed?

Local government is financed through various sources:

Local Government Fund (LGF) – a central fund which finances part of the expenditure of local authorities. In 2016, this totaled €1.8 billion, and comes from three sources:

Local property tax revenues (~25%)

Motor tax revenues (~60%)

Payments from the Exchequer (~15%)

Charges for goods and services – Councils can receive payment for the services which they provide, such as housing rents, waste charges, parking charges, planning application fees. In the majority of cases, the fee is set locally although some may be fixed at national level.

Specific state grants – these are paid to councils by various government departments in respect of particular services and schemes, such as housing and road maintenance.

Rates – Councils are under a statutory obligation to levy rates on properties in their authority area which are used for commercial purposes.

How much do councils spend and on what?

Ireland’s local authorities planned to spend €4.1 billion in 2016. Of this, the major components were as follows:

Housing – €998 million

Roads – €832 million

Environment – €674 million

Recreation – €409 million

Water – €399 million

Development – €339 million

How many people work for local government in Ireland?

As of 2014, there were around 26,800 local government employees in Ireland. This figure is down from over 30,000 in 2010.

What changed under in the 2014 Local Government Reforms?

The number of councils was reduced from 114 to 31, due to the abolition of town councils.

The number of councillors was reduced from 1,627 to 949

Counties were divided into “municipal districts” and county councillors also became district councillors

Waterford City Council and Waterford County Council were merged and became Waterford City and County Council

Limerick City Council and Limerick County Council were merged and became Limerick City and County Council

North Tipperary County Council and South Tipperary County Council were merged and became Tipperary County Council